Black Caps: Four new players pick up central contracts
Four players have been given their first Black Caps central contracts, while two veteran spinners are among those to miss out on contracts for next season.
Canterbury keeper-batter Mitch Hay, Wellington allrounder Muhammad Abbas, Canterbury fast bowler Zak Foulkes and Auckland leg-spinner Adi Ashok have earned their first central contracts.
Those who were contracted last season but miss out are Ajaz Patel, Ish Sodhi, Josh Clarkson and Tim Southee, who has retired.
Kane Williamson, Devon Conway, Finn Allen, Tim Seifert and Lockie Ferguson have in recent years declined contracts, but New Zealand Cricket said discussions on casual playing contracts with them are ongoing.
Last season the salary for contracted players ranged from $165,000 to $318,000.
Henry Nicholls has been included on the list of the 20 contracted players. He played just six ODI's for New Zealand last season.
"The contracts with Mitch, Muhammad, Adi and Zak reflect the incredible talent coming through our system," NZC Chief Executive Scott Weenink said.
"The list captures the depth and versatility of our talent pool. With a packed season ahead, including the ICC T20 World Cup in February, these players are ready to make their mark and inspire fans across New Zealand."
Hay, 24, struck an unbeaten 99 off 78 balls to anchor New Zealand's ODI innings against Pakistan earlier this year, and also set a world record with six dismissals in a T20I during his debut tour in Sri Lanka in November.
Twenty one year-old Wellington allrounder Muhammad Abbas smashed a record-breaking 52 off 26 balls on his ODI debut against Pakistan in March, setting the fastest fifty on debut in men's ODIs.
Foulkes, 22, made his T20I debut for the Blackcaps against Pakistan last year, stepping in for the injured Adam Milne and impressing with his all-round skills. He made his ODI debut in November.
Ashok, 22, returned to the ODI squad earlier this year after making his debut in 2023, and most recently grabbed with a five wicket haul in New Zealand A's win over Bangladesh A at Sylhet.
The Black Caps next assignment is a two-Test tour of Zimbabwe in July and August.
Centrally contracted players for 2025-26: Adithya Ashok, Michael Bracewell, Tom Blundell, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Mitch Hay, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Muhammad Abbas, Henry Nicholls, William O'Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith, Will Young
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
an hour ago
- NZ Herald
On The Up: Inside the provincial football team taking on and beating cashed-up big city clubs
And they certainly don't have a playing roster featuring some players who are paid enough by their respective football clubs to coach junior players so they can forget about having to do a day job. Napier City Rovers' playing stocks include two painters, two ice truck drivers, a plumber, a builder, an outdoor pursuits trainer, and several teacher aides. What they also have is a record of making the most of what they have and defying the odds in taking on their big-city rivals. Since 2022 – when they ended a 20-year absence from New Zealand Football's (NZF) National League – they have been the only provincial-based club to make the top-tier domestic football competition. From 2022-24, the Jim Hoyle-captained team is one of only five clubs to have made the 10-team league over the three successive seasons. Napier City Rovers head coach Bill Robertson, (left), and the side's goalkeeping coach Kyle Baxter. Photo / Neil Reid The National League during that period has been made up of: the top four finishers in the Northern League; the Wellington Phoenix Reserves and the top three from the Central League; and the Southern League's top two sides. To make Napier City Rovers' achievement even more profound, one of the five other clubs – the Wellington Phoenix Reserves – are guaranteed a National League spot regardless of where they finish in the Central League via their participation agreement with NZF. Napier City Rovers captain Jim Hoyle has had another strong year with the football club he's called home since 2015. Photo / Neil Reid As Napier City Rovers hunt a hoped-for fourth successive qualification to the competition, coach Bill Robertson has opened up on how his side has bucked the otherwise big-city domination of the league spots. 'There's a lot of hard work that goes into our success,' he said. 'There's no stone unturned in terms of how we train, how we prepare for oppositions, and how we travel. Don't forget the amount of travel we have to do. Impressive Napier City Rovers players Cameron Emerson and George Andrew shake hands after their side's Central League win over Miramar Rangers at Bluewater Stadium. Photo / Neil Reid 'We've looked at how we make sure we have the best preparation we can for the players so we're able to get the results on the road.' The travel factor is huge for Napier City Rovers. As the only non-Wellington-based team in the Central League, the side face almost 6000km of mini-van travel to and from away games in the capital every second weekend. Before the 2023 season, the team used to travel both ways on game day to Wellington. For the past two years, the side have driven south the night before game day. The club's investment in hotel accommodation has paid off with consistently strong results on the road. Napier City Rovers' hard work in getting ready for 2025 has included training sessions as dawn breaks in the city. Photo / Neil Reid Using precious dollars wisely is a must at Napier City Rovers. While the history of the club is rich – having previously won five Chatham Cups and four National League titles – financially some of the other teams they face in the Central and National leagues are in a different ballpark. Auckland City pull in around $1 million solely from gaming trusts; a figure further increased by sponsorship deals. Napier City Rovers' entire first-team season budget is less than 10% of the gaming trust sum received by the national champions. NZF regulations cap weekly player payments to $150 a game. But some sides offer their top players high six-figure contracts as youth coaches; some of those deals are also richer than the budget Napier City Rovers' entire side operates with. Napier City Rovers don't complain about the at-times uneven playing field they're faced with. In some ways, it has added to a strong resolve and culture that has grown in strength in recent seasons. That culture is paramount when it comes to Robertson recruiting players from outside the region. The camaraderie and positive culture that has been developed within Napier City Rovers' first team is infectious. Photo / Neil Reid 'We haven't got a huge budget like some other clubs have to sign any player I want. We have to be strategic with our recruitment,' he said. 'We've got a good track record of bringing in good players and, most importantly, good people that buy into what we're trying to achieve here. It's not an easy task, but we've got a model here that seems to be working well for us.' Napier City Rovers hope to take another step towards the hoped-for fourth successive National League qualification on Sunday when they host Wellington team Western Suburbs in round-10 Central League action. Robertson's team go into the match in fourth place, two competition points ahead of their weekend rivals. The coach is after his team to concentrate on their 'processes' rather than the points table; saying if they do that successfully, the results will follow. Napier City Rovers coach Bill Robertson wants his players to concentrate on their processes, not the Central League points table. Photo / Neil Reid But there's no mistaking the burning desire throughout the coaching, management, and playing group to again reach the National League. 'That would be an incredible achievement,' Robertson said. 'The consistency we've shown to perform at a high level and secure the results we need to qualify for the past three years is fantastic. We're obviously trying to do that again. 'We're in the hunt.' The side's achievements over the past three seasons have helped financially. Billboards of returning and new sponsors surround the playing arena at Bluewater Stadium. Crowds have also been dramatically on the up, especially over the past two seasons. Game day at Bluewater Stadium is now a 'must-do' day out on a Sunday for a growing number of families, including hundreds of kids decked out in Napier City Rovers replica kit. Mason Johnson signing autographs at Bluewater Stadium post-match. Photo / Neil Reid And the scenes that happen post-match at the venue are a throwback to the amateur era of sport in New Zealand, where crowds are welcome to flock on to the pitch and a line of autograph hunters stretching dozens of metres await the players before they can head to the changing rooms. 'We always speak about the players being role models in the region and trying to inspire the future generations of young players,' Robertson said. 'It's absolutely fantastic to see the crowds and the number of kids here that are at games watching. At the end of the game, when you see the kids lining up for autographs with their heroes, it is a really powerful sight.' It was another big crowd that flocked to Bluewater Stadium last Sunday to watch the side claim a deserved 3-1 win over the Wellington Phoenix Reserves in the second round of the knockout Chatham Cup. Sam Lack has been there every step of the way since Napier City Rovers' return to the National League in 2022 and has scored six goals in 10 games in 2025. Photo / Neil Reid The goals came via a double to Jordan Annear, while another from Sam Lack takes his 2025 tally to six from 10 games. Robertson took the chance to rotate his squad. The changes included captain Jim Hoyle, fellow defensive rock Matt Jones and impressive English import Mason Johnson starting the match from the substitutes bench. Striker Jordan Annear - pictured having a break after a training session - was outstanding in Napier City Rovers' Chatham Cup second round win over the Wellington Phoenix Reserves. Photo / Neil Reid In came Annear – later rightly judged man of the match after a storming performance – Kaeden Atkins, and Jack Albertini. Like Annear, Atkins and Albertini also took their chance to remind Robertson of just how well they can contribute. 'The boys that came in did well,' Robertson said. 'There's good depth in the squad and we need that. 'All the other games we've played, aside from the Central League loss to the Wellington Phoenix, we've been very competitive. 'And I think we can improve in the second half of the season which is a positive. There's definitely more to see from us in the second half of the season.' >> Inside the Rovers video series: Episode 1: Match Fit Episode 2: Teen's Dream Episode 3: New Beginnings Episode 4: For Keeps Episode 5: Kiwi Steve Episode 6: Capital Punishment Episode 7: Bouncing back Episode 8: The Centurion Episode 9: The Running Man Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 33 years of newsroom experience. Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
13 hours ago
- RNZ News
Gary Stead on Kane Williamson: 'It's easy for a coach to have imposter syndrome'
Gary Stead and Kane Williamson after winning the 2021 World Test Championship. Photo: PHOTOSPORT Outgoing Black Caps coach Gary Stead admits he wondered how he could coach a player like Kane Williamson. Stead stood down as Black Caps coach on Wednesday after seven years in charge. Stead quit as coach of the ODI and T20 white-ball teams in April and New Zealand Cricket said he had effectively been ruled out of retaining the test job after they decided on having one coach across all formats. Stead took over from Mike Hesson, who had helped guide the Black Caps to the final of the 2015 World Cup and the semi-finals of the 2016 T20 World Cup. The team was playing well under the captaincy of Kane Williamson, who by then was well established as one of the best batters in the world. "It's easy as a coach to come in and have imposter syndrome, how can I help a Kane Williamson," Stead said about his start in the role in 2018. "Kane Williamson knows a lot more about batting than I ever will, but that's where you find yourself, how you question them and how you challenge them to keep going to that next level. "That is the part of coaching I really enjoy." Stead oversaw the inaugural World Test Championship win in 2021, an unprecedented three-nil test series sweep of India on the sub-continent last year, alongside five out of six finals appearances in ICC white-ball World Cups. "To continually make those stages of those events says to me that the team is running well and that we also have plans in place to allow us to get there as well. "This team is seen by our opposition as a team that won't go away and you know when you play New Zealand you're in for a fight." New Zealand coach Gary Stead and New Zealand captain Tim Southee. N Photo: PHOTOSPORT Stead obviously played his part in that success and felt he achieved most of the things he wanted to. "When you enter these roles you want to see people grow and one of the things I'm most proud about is the guys coming through now and the New Zealand cricket team is in good heart. "I sit here today proud of what we've done, but equally proud of the people that have been involved throughout." Stead, 53, said it felt like the right time to stand down. "All good things come to an end at some stage and you have to look beyond that and what is best for the team. "Right now a new coach coming in two years out from a world cup gives them the chance to put their spin on the team as well. "I certainly don't see this as the end of coaching for me." New Zealand Cricket hope to unveil the new Black Caps coach by the end of the week. Former Black Caps bowler Shane Bond, South African Rob Walter, who has coach Otago and Central Districts, and current Black Caps assistants Luke Ronchi and Shane Jurgensen are viewed as contenders to replace Stead. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
13 hours ago
- RNZ News
Gary Stead calls time on Black Caps coaching career
Gary Stead has called time on his Black Caps coaching career after seven years in charge. Earlier this year Stead stepped away from the white ball role and now it's confirmed he won't be the Test team coach either. Sports reporter Felicity Reid spoke to Lisa Owen. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
